étude
by x-cry
Summary: He was the Point man and she was the Architect. Nothing more, nothing less. A few vignettes of how these two interact with each other, before, during and after the job is finished. Maybe some AU later on.  Ariadne/Arthur


_**~étude~**_

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**_**Disclaimer: I do not own Inception. Christopher Nolan does and he's awesome. Go send him a thank you card for creating such an epic tale and bringing Arthur and Adriane to life. Oh and those other characters too.**

**A/N:** So, I haven't written any fanfiction in like forever. Ok, that's a lie; I've written a few last year but only posted up on livejournal when I went through my Jpop/drama phase. After reading .N's "Capitulation", I was inspired to write again and suddenly, this just popped into my mind. As for the title, wanted to find something French sounding because they sound pretty as titles, I know, lazy aren't I? Look it up if you don't know what it means; refers to music and studying and techniques.

A bunch of useless fillers in the between, but it's something I like to try with this couple, which I fell in love with after watching the movie. Well I fell in love with Arthur and my boyfriend is raging with jealousy haha.

I hope I didn't butcher the characters too much, especially Arthur, because one, I haven't written in a while, two, I fail, and three, Arthur is so charming that if you fail to write him perfectly, the whole story falls apart. But that's just me. Main character in this chapter will be Ariadne of course, because she's the easiest to write. I may have turned her into a little horny yet awkward teenage girl though…Don't kill me for that.

Also, the plot for this shot might be a little familiar to most of you. It's been done, but it's just my take on it.

For now, I think this will be just a bunch of one-shots, long and short.

**Warning: Fail attempt at writing Arthur. Don't hurt me for ruining him. Also, this story is UN-BETAED. So, a few grammatical mistakes here and there. I'm telling you, I haven't written anything in over a year now.**

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_**Ordinary**_

Ariadne came to a realization that she knew absolutely nothing about Arthur. For a matter of fact, she knew nothing about the group of men she worked with. She at least, however, knew what they were going to do with their lives after their little extraction project with Fischer, well, except for Arthur of course.

She was lucky—though curiosity did kill the cat, with Mal holding a knife at her—at least she was still able to get a glimpse of the Extractor's memories and nightmares here and there. All Cobb wanted was a way out and a straight path home to his kids, where he could continue to be the best damn father as he could be. He owed it to them for being away on a "business trip" for so long. Their relatives were almost running out of lies to tell them.

Saito, the Tourist, obvious from the start, from his professionalism and connections, was a businessman. He dealt with…well business type stuff…company affairs, money, contracts with other huge companies, rival companies. From what she could surmise from all the money he could wire up in a little amount of time, he was perhaps the CEO of a large financial firm in Japan. That sounded just about right…Maybe?

Yusuf, the Chemist, without any doubt, with one glance, everyone knew owned some dollar store around the corner, or some pawn shop…Maybe a thrift store? But of course, no one in the group could forget his not-so-secret sanctuary for those who couldn't dream anymore or wish to continue forever through a world they created just with pure belief and imagination without any interruptions.

Eames, the Forger, that sardonic Brit was well…off at the clubs, picking up the ladies with lame pickup lines which to her surprise, worked a few times and somehow managing a small bar all at the same time. Typical, for the way his impression of him came off as. A bartender who loves the ladies, alcohol and gambling; how does he do it? She doesn't even want to know.

And then there was Arthur, the Point man. Ariadne couldn't quite put her finger on it. Just what the hell did he do with his life? Before and after all of this? All she knew was his name and that he was Cobb's most trustworthy partner in crime. Was Arthur even his real name?

As charming as he looked, in that fine white tailored suit, red tie, black vest, sleeves rolled up to his elbows and hair slicked back, Arthur was a mystery, and she knew damn well that he was harder to read than that 300 level _history on architects_ textbook she had to finish by the end of the semester.

His half-smirk smile melted every woman in the room and a chuckle ever so enchanting. Ariadne would almost like to guess if he was a host club member of an exclusive country club or even a gigolo. She chokes on the thought of this charming man to be the latter.

So when the opportunity came, just the two of them, alone at a hotel lobby, Ariadne, with her fingers rubbing over the Bishop in the pocket of her cardigan, sheepishly approaches him and calls out, "Umm…Arthur?" His name slips out her mouth to sound more like "Ah-tha" instead. Frick, her nervousness took over and now she was almost trembling.

This doesn't usually happen, but it was the night before their big extraction adventure with Fischer and the last—her only actually— job before they all parted ways. She might as well find out what this enigmatic man did. She admitted it. She was nosy, if not just curious on a lighter level.

Arthur looks up from book he was reading, which she caught a quick glimpse of. Was that…Italian? She recognized a few words from what she learned in high school. Yup.

"Hmm? Oh it's you…Can't sleep?"

Ariadne falls back into a comfortable position on the soft red cushion of the sofa, next to him. "More or less, I usually don't sleep till 3'am anyway…"

Arthur shuts his so-called Italian book and lets out a small chuckle before heaving a short sigh, stirring the glass of wine he picked up from the coffee table in front of them, "Ahh...Well, what could I do to help you with this fine breezy night, Miss Ariadne? Last minute questions about Fischer?" He takes a few sips before placing the cup back to the previous spot.

The Architect shakes her head, "No, not that…" She pauses for a second and then crosses her arms, "I'm curious…Just what is it that you do?"

"Isn't it quite obvious? I research on the Marks and relay all the information or did you forget that part?"

She rolls her eyes, "Well I know that and no I didn't forget! Besides your remarkable talent to research up on people, what did you do before all of this? Like what were your hobbies, life-time goals, all that…?"

Arthur raises an eyebrow of all the inquiries this little graduate student had and shifts in place, his back straight and now more focused on her face than the pretty night scenery before them, "And where are you going with this? Don't see you asking the others any of these questions. What makes me so special?"

Ariadne opens her mouth to answer, but then closes it. Why was she here, in the middle of the hotel lobby, asking this lovely man so many questions? Oh, because she was curious and nosy and she couldn't tell what occupation he had just by looking at him.

Special was emphasized, and her heart jumps a little when he calls out to her, "Miss Ariadne?"

Ok, so she may have found him a little on the attractive side maybe as hot as Leonardo Di Caprio, but what made Arthur so special?

She takes a slow, steady breath, pondering, finding something to tell him before answering, "You remind me of someone I once knew but didn't really know. I guess it's just that part of me that wished to know him better before he went away." A small sigh of relief and her shoulder relaxes. Straight-forward answer enough, she hoped. Will he believe her?

"Oh? And who was this person, if you don't mind me asking?" Arthur teases, who is now relaxed against the sofa, his arms spread out on top. A smile is now tugging at the corner of his lips. His right arm swung closely to the back of her neck, fingers brushing faintly –perhaps without his knowledge and just a relaxing gesture— almost sending chills down her spine.

Ariadne bites the bottom of her lip, "Someone special, a childhood friend actually." Frick, now he was the one playing twenty-one questions with her. How did this happen? She wasn't that hard to figure out, just an architect grad student still working hard on her degree, living in a small apartment and working between jobs to find money for rent and tuition.

Oh he was good, caught her off guard too. He could be an extractor if he could but she had to admit, she was a bit easy to break. She was still all new to this…inception concept, whatever Cobb called it.

She avoids his intense gaze, which she finds so hard to look straight into without losing control and melting. She feels like she's in high school all over again, crushing over the new hot young English teacher, which he seem to give her the illusion of at the moment, besides reminding her of the special childhood friend.

"Miss Ariadne had a boyfriend? Oh I'm heartbroken, and after we went through so much together." Arthur adds, playfully placing his hand over his forehead and lashing his head back with a heavy sad sigh. A little too much to drink now, she analyzes from the half bottle of wine next to the cup.

Arthur was distant, as the whole group was, and was as professional as Eames. Somehow she was drawn to him like a magnet to a refrigerator, besides Cobb, who at the moment gave her a lifetime of headaches about his shady murderous wife. She wanted to have an actual conversation without having to hear about Cobb anguishing over his now dead wife.

Her face flushes a little at that, "Seriously Arthur, just trying to get to know my _'co-workers'_ a little more, maybe it'll be good for the team! That way we can go through all these jobs with ease." Ariadne counters, hoping he would stop laughing and teasing her.

Ariadne is greeted with a pregnant pause and Arthur's face, slightly flushed from all the wine before, was now solemn, eyes back on the pages of his Italian book. After flipping through two pages, which he manages to read in less than five minutes, he reaches over with his hand and brushes off a few locks of hair from her face, "If I tell you, you might hate me."

She scrunches her brow and blinks, "What do you mean by that? You part of the mafia or something?" She half-jokes, though her voice was as shaky as before she approached him.

"Hah. No. Something you don't want to know actually."

"Well you got to know a little something of me, so now it's your turn." She begins, pointing a finger at his chest, "It's alright I can take it. Hell if I can get through one of those training sessions with you guys, I can very well take on what you're going to tell me. I'm not a little girl you know. Don't have to protect my '_innocence_'." She air quotes at the last word, mocking how men would talk about the pretty little princesses who should just stay pretty, cute and innocent forever.

No, Ariadne wanted to show them she wasn't just some damsel in distress. She's learning and she's going to be as accommodating to this group as ever. She was the Architect for Christ's sake. Best one there was in Paris, or so that's what her Professor tells her.

"So give it to me, Sir Arthur."

Arthur lets out a heavy sigh, "Ok, fine, you got me little missy, you really want to know what I do for a living?"

Ariadne nods, like a dog excited for a treat from their master, sits up straight, with a small grin on her face, ears ready, and hands clasped together on her lap, "Uh huh…" She gestures her hand for him to continue, "Yeah…?"

The Point man gives her that famous half smirk smile, and shifts up from the sofa, "Miss Ariadne, I was once but an ordinary man, an intern who wanted nothing more than the joy to see the world high above. That and I worked on the side on engineering and information technology."

The Architect blinks for a few seconds and lets out a childish chuckle, "Oh, that wasn't so bad. How could I hate you for that?"

"Because, little princess," Here he rests both hands on her shoulders, and then slides them down her arms slowly, squeezing when he was halfway down. His face was so close to hers she could almost feel his breath, the slight smell of red wine mixed with the intoxicating cologne he wore, "You don't know half the things I've did in my lifetime and if I told you anymore than that, then…"

"Then what?" Ariadne challenges, her eyes now fixed on his, "What will you do to me? Take out a pen and flash a bright light to my face like the M.I.B.? I can't forget people or things so easily you know."

Arthur giggles, "Hah, you watch way too much television for a grad student."

"Hey! I have a life too, sometimes you need to relax from studying hard and work too. So what is it? You gonna dump in the river or something? Is it that bad? You are from the mafia, aren't you?"

Arthur rises and begins his way towards his hotel room, "That little girl, is a secret. You wanted to know what I did and I gave you an answer. Nothing more, nothing less, right?"

Ariadne jumps from her spot and dashes after him, where he was just about to step into the elevator and leave her behind. She makes it just in time and slides right on through just when the doors close, "Hey now! That's it? And I thought we were really connecting out there."

The polished point man shrugs, "Meh, it was worth a shot and you did your best."

The elevator stops at the fifth floor and Arthur steps out. Ariadne starts to follow after, but he turns around and wags a finger at her playfully, "Ah-ah, your room is in the next level and its way past our bedtime. We have a big day ahead of us, Miss Ariadne. I suggest you get as much rest as possible. The team can't go on without the special little Architect now, am I right?"

He steps forward and pecks her on the cheek before pressing the 'close doors' button and stepping back out, "Good night, Miss Ariadne. Don't let this conversation of ours get to your head now. Sweet dreams."

And then he winks at her right before the elevator doors shut. The elevator jerks a little, sending her stumbling to the back and ascends to the next floor.

"Damn, maybe I should've tried a different approach. Some extractor I am." She mutters to herself before stomping to her hotel room, where a passed out Cobb rested on his side of the room.

Perhaps it was better not to know anything more than he told her. He was a pilot, or so she assumed from his words, and minored in engineering and information technology.

She shrugs it off, too tired to think of any other excuse to poke at the Point man and ask him any further of what he did and just fall into her hotel mattress.

She had two hours and thirteen minutes left until the plane where Fischer would be riding would leave.

It was a start.

An ordinary man who wanted nothing more than the joy to see the world high above. He might just get to see that soon, if not for a brief minute before plugging himself with the UV cord and entering a dream world.

_**~end~**_

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**A/N:** Ok, so I know you want to kill me for the fail and for the shortness of it. Oh did I mention I just made up a bunch of stuff to what the others really do? I don't remember much from the movie, but you know, if I was in Ariadne's shoes, I would have guessed those too by just a glance of those men.

I ran out of ideas and this so-called one-shot just kept dragging. Had to end it sooner or later, in a way Arthur would like to end his conversation with a pleasant lady like Ariadne.

I hope you enjoyed this and hopefully I have the inspiration to write some more one-shots…They'll come, if not slowly but surely.

Maybe you guys can throw me some ideas? That would help. Thanks!


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